Today was a lot of talking and posters. Talking mostly about all things concerning Taupo and Okataina volcanism in New Zealand. Posters ran the spectrum from learning some nifty new tricks to extract zircon crystals from a crushed rock to what happens to clay when you breathe it into your lungs.
I also learned that being head of the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory take a level head and focus (so Supervolcano was a lot closer to the truth than many might think – well, minus the whole eruption).
Speaking of which, Chaiten continues to confound me. The first stuff out in the eruption was actually really crystal poor – something like <1% crystals, which is surprising for such an explosive eruption. Looks like Chaiten might be a once-in-a-century high silica rhyolite eruption … that doesn’t seem to end.